Dear All,

Please find below the CfP for a Graduate Student Workshop at the Department of Japanese Studies, University of Zurich, held on 2-3 December 2021.

Fieldwork is undoubtedly an essential method to study Japan, but it can present major cultural and organizational challenges to young researchers with little or no previous field experience. This workshop offers a platform to doctoral students for discussing practical issues of doing fieldwork in Japan. The workshop will be kicked off by an expert presentation on methodological challenges during field work in Japan. Doctoral students _present on and exchange experiences about practical problems occurring upon fieldwork in Japan and receive feedback by an expert of the field_. We invite submissions from students who wish to discuss or problematize methodological challenges they (expect to) face during their dissertation-related field work in Japan such as

-How to deal with foreign-language resources, communication issues and translation? How to reflect on potentially arising misinterpretation or bias?

-How to collect and interpret data, especially on sensitive issues, as an outsider to the sample group (e.g. non-native speaker, foreigner, gender, age, etc.)?

-How to deal with organisational and emotional issues during fieldwork (e.g. unexpected schedule changes, interview anxiety, etc.)?

*How to apply*

The workshop will be held on 2-3 December 2021 at the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies (IAOS) at the University of Zurich. We welcome submissions from across social science studies on Japan, including but not limited to sociology, anthropology, cultural studies and political science. _Submissions can reach from a description of the methodological problem participants (expect to) face in the field to a more detailed elaboration of ongoing or completed fieldwork_ whose challenges they wish to discuss during the workshop.

Deadline abstracts: 13 September 2021 (around 300 words)

Notification of acceptance: 27 September 2021

Deadline essays: 15 November 2021 (1,500-3,000 words)

Please submit an abstract summarizing topic, research questions, methods and the challenges faced. Please include a short bio (max. 200 words) outlining your affiliation, field of study, year in the doctoral program, and main research methods. Language of the workshop is English.

_Costs_for transportation are born by the presenters. Accommodation for two nights will be provided through the funding of the UZH Graduate Campus.

_Please send your application as MS Word attachment to Nora Gilgen (nora.gilgen@aoi.uzh.ch <mailto:nora.gilgen@aoi.uzh.ch>)_

For further questions, feel free to contact the convenors: Chiara Fusari (chiara.fusari@uzh.ch <mailto:chiara.fusari@uzh.ch>); Nora Gilgen (nora.gilgen@aoi.uzh.ch <mailto:nora.gilgen@aoi.uzh.ch>); Dr. Helena Hof (Helena.hof@uzh.ch <mailto:Helena.hof@uzh.ch>)